Who Must Be Served

Service of process is successful provided that the right individual is served. When the defendant can be described but not identified, some states allow for service to be produced using a fictional name. Where the defendant is not a natural person, but instead a corporation, statutes usually provide for successful service on a managing member, a director, an officer, or anyone designated an agent in the corporation's application for a charter or a permit to work within the state.

When the person to be sued is a minor or a person incapable of managing his own legal matters, service is performed on a parent, guardian, or somebody else entrusted with matters of the defendant. The plaintiff may request the court when there's doubt, to designate a suitable person. An estate can be sued by service of process on an executor or administrator. The plaintiff may ask the court if none has yet been named, to appoint such an individual.

When more than one individual has been sued, all of them must be served. For instance, if a partnership is involved, all partners must be served. In a foreclosure all parties residing the property must be served. Frequently the plaintiff will also serve any party they may or may not be aware of.

When Papers may Be Served

The proper time for service of process depends upon the law of the jurisdiction. Service should be produced inside the time that the Statute of Limitations allows for starting that particular type of action as it's the service of process that begins the lawsuit.

Many states have long prohibited personal or substituted service on Sunday. Service can be prohibited on legal holidays in certain states.

Where Process May Be Served

Legal documents may need to be served within the geographical reach of the jurisdiction, or reach of the court. Then the service generally has to be made within the state in the event the service is the basis for the court's jurisdiction over the defendant. For lower-level courts, service might have to be done within the county where the court is situated. Trial courts of general jurisdiction usually permit service everywhere within the state. Service of process for an action in a federal district court may be served in any State or Territories of the United States.

A variety of laws permit state courts to exercise power over individuals not physically located inside the state. All these laws are known as “long-arm-statues.” They define variables, aside from the defendant's physical location within the state, that provide adequate reason for the court to exercise authority on the defendant, including doing business within the state or having an automobile accident inside the state. When one of these factors exists, the prospective defendant could be served in another state since the service itself is not the basis of the court's jurisdiction.

When necessary a plaintiff may choose to domesticate service from the state of origin to another state, where the party being served is locating. Domesticating service will make it valid and enforceable in the state where service is going to be performed.

Substituted or constructive methods of service of process might be used on a defendant who comes within the state's long-arm jurisdiction. Many states allow a plaintiff to serve an out of state resident who was involved in an automobile accident in the state to the Secretary of State of the state where the accident occurred, after sending copies to the defendant at his dwelling. This kind of legislative act is approved due to the theory that a nonresident motorist has consented for this method of service by his using facilities and the highways inside the state.